Steven Hamburg is a forest ecologist, well-known for pushing Walmart to go green. Hamburg's current work as a Senior Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund focuses on climate change. The Douglas Lecture honors Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890-1998).

Dr. Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google, approaches language modeling as an exercise in probabilistic inference from data. He explains how linguistic computer models can be built based off of billions of examples of word use and combinations.

Paul Frommer, creator of the Na'vi language for the 2009 film "Avatar," talks about his involvement in the project, and the astonishing expansion of Na’vi by enthusiasts. This lecture highlights Angela Carpenter's "Invented Languages" course at Wellesle

Peter Galison, Professor of History of Science and Physics at Harvard University, explores the technical, sociological, moral and philosophical questions inherent in determining who is to blame for the catastrophic failures of large technical systems.

The Director of Programs at Childbirth Connection makes the case for stakeholders from across the health care system to join in making health system improvements that foster more reliable delivery of evidence-based maternity care.

The executive director of the National Women's Health Network and the dean of BU's School of Public Health debate the new national guidelines. Moderated by Susan Reverby. Part of the Celebrating QR Connections series.

Denis Halliday, a 34-year veteran of the United Nations and the winner of 2003 Ghandi International Peace Award recognizing his humanitarian work for Iraqis, gives a talk at Wellesley in 2009 about the current state of the UN Security Council.

Annie Seaton ’90, author of One Drop: My Father’s Hidden Life — a Story of Race and Family Secrets, speaks on discovering her father's Creole history after being raised as white. She discusses the question: Does race still matter?

Charles Franklin, co-founder of Pollster.com, discusses the state of the 2008 Presidential race and logic of statistical comparisons as he heads to ABC News' Decision Desk to project the winners on Election Night.

Dr. Hillygus discusses her book "The Persuadable Voter" and how it relates to the McCain vs. Obama race. Topics include who can be persuaded by campaign information, the impact of race, wedge issues, and micro-targeting.

Anna Greenberg, an expert on public opinion and survey design, discusses the recent history of polling and politics, the skills needed to be a pollster, and the race between Barack Obama and John McCain.

David Card, Prof. of Economics, Berkeley, discusses "Social Interactions, Tipping, & Segregation". Many behaviors are affected by what other people do, e.g., living in a neighborhood. Choice models with social interactions can have unstable equilibria.

Author and environmentalist Bill McKibben speaks about climate change, saying that global warming can be stopped if people begin to organize politically. This lecture was hosted by Wellesley Focus the Nation.